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Okay so I was visiting family on Easter sunday and of course we went to church that morning. We sat in a pew right behind a mom, her boyfriend, and her little boy who is 4 years old. He was SO naughty the entire time, fidgiting around, getting up and running around, talking, laughing, and staring and pointing at people. I mean, I realize he's only 4 but stiill! His mom did NOTHING the entire time, she didn't even tell him to be quiet or sit still ONCE! And the kicker is, during the sermon he was being really bad, and she pulls out a ball of freaking JELLO, wrapped in saran wrap, and puts it up to his mouth and he starts to slurp on it! I was seriously appalled! I mean, what ever happened to cheerios and fruit loops here?

So if you take your kids to church, how do you discipline them? Do you give them snacks (jello!?!?!?), books, toys, etc?

What do you think parents should do if their kids are acting really badly and distracting everyone?

I know when we were little my dad would drag us out to the parking lot and spank us, so we always behaved lol!

We do not bring any books or toys with us to church. They can be just as disruptive as a bored kid. (I should say the average Mass is 50 minutes to an hour... not as long as a lot of protestant services I've been to!) Any child of mine old enough to get through that hour without needing to be nursed does not get snacks either! IMO, once they are old enough to start observing and listening and looking around (varies, but around the age of two and certainly by three), they are old enough to start learning about why we go to church. If I wanted them distracted by toys and snacks I would leave them in the nursery.

If my children are being disruptive, I leave with them. How I handle them from there depends on their age, how or why they are misbehaving, and how creative I am feeling that day.

I think when Aden gets a little bit older we will probably bring books for her, like her "my first bible" and stuff like that. But I think as they get older they should have to pay more attention and listen more.
( I don't think we ever had toys either, but we were allowed to color on those little children's bulletins that they give out before the service.)

I can't be any help, I am one of the parents with kids that don't sit and behave for two hours. Since I go by myself and have no help with my kids, I ended up not going at all because I felt like I was disrupting the service. The last Sunday I went a visitor (not a normal member of the church) was sitting behind me and said my god can't she do something with her kids, mind you my kids were not eating or running around, they were just asking me when we could go home, and coloring. So, I guess since i can't control all three of my kids, we just don't get to go, so we don't offend anyone.

When I was a kid, they had Sunday school for kids during the normal sermon for adults, so we were there for the singing and stuff in the beginning, and then we were ushered out to a different room (this was an Episcopalian church). I think that would be the optimum way for a child to learn in church, because not many children do well with sitting through lectures. Heck, I had an issue sitting through lectures in college and I was in my twenties

We were never allowed to get out of line in church. I went to mass a few times at a parish that was majorly hispanics. To them it seemed all right to allow the kids under the age of 5 wander around their pew and in the isle and make much noise. At that parish they seemed to be ok with it. The priest even said at the start of church. Welcome all the children to Gods house or something like that. I been to other parishes where parents kept their kids in complete control of their behavior. I went to Latin mass one time. Just to experience it at least once. Not knowing or understanding the Latin. Kids were so well behaved and in tune with what was happening during mass. Even the younger ones. One boy got just a little bit out of line. His I assume father. Took him out to the back hall. Spanked him once on the behind. Says are you going to behave or do you want to be spanked again. They came back into church. The little boy was well behaved through the rest of mass. I know with the little ones you can't expect them to sit still the whole time. If they're quiet let them fidgit around the pew they are in quietly. As long as they are not being allowed to run up and down the isle. Not allowed to be really loud in church where it disrupts what is going on.

I can't be any help, I am one of the parents with kids that don't sit and behave for two hours. Since I go by myself and have no help with my kids, I ended up not going at all because I felt like I was disrupting the service. The last Sunday I went a visitor (not a normal member of the church) was sitting behind me and said my god can't she do something with her kids, mind you my kids were not eating or running around, they were just asking me when we could go home, and coloring. So, I guess since i can't control all three of my kids, we just don't get to go, so we don't offend anyone.[/b]

That's too bad. Is there another church you can go to that has a nursery or something? They have one at mine where the kids can play during the service.

I am going to try to start going back again soon maybe, my kids are a little older so maybe they will do better, as far as the nursery goes, my kids won't stay with people they don't know very well, they are so used to me that it is hard leaving them with anyone. The people that go to chruch there were very nice, and they actually called and told me that they never once heard my kids making any noise, but I don't really believe them.

I totally agree CeCe! Not every issue has to do with those darn non-caucasians or homosexuals and their horrible children/morals/actions/behaviors and how they are ruining the world! Bad parents are bad parents and I PROMISE they aren't just hispanic!

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"I will make it through this because it is for her and for her, I will do anything. I am not brave, I am not strong, I am just Rhiannon’s mom". Our TTC/Adoption/Pregnancy Blog: Jump Over The Rainbow

Yeah, I have thought about changing religions, maybe to something a little louder....anyone have any suggestions? : ) Also, I do agree that some cultures seem to be stricter on their kids than others, but in my honest opinon, I have seen tons more white kids with a lack of discipline than any other, but that is just my thinking.

I do think different cultures have different ways of discipline/priorities. I don't want to start generalizing, however lol And I think a lot ties into how the parents discipline/place priorities on their children - like cultural priorities (i.e., in Japan and Russia, a huge emphasis is placed on education so that dictates a lot of how kids are raised between 1st grade and high school, etc; while maybe in a Hispanic or Italian culture, a strong emphasis is placed on religious and family values and obedience, and THAT would dictate how a parent raised their child, etc).

Nope, I will have to change religions, all of the churchs around here are quite, I wasn't raised in a church that quite, what is so bad is that the church that I am going to is not even my church of choice, but it is the church that my husband would go to if he would ever go, so I thought that by going there that it might encourage my husband to come with me, but no sucess yet.....